Heart of Fragile Ice
by whylime
Summary: Building friendships after spending 300 years alone can be difficult. There may be some rough spots during Jack's first few years as a Guardian. A collection of short pieces looking at his relationships with each of the other characters. Soft friendship fluff.
1. Ch 1: North

Chapter 1: North

Jack stared in wonder at the marvels all around him as he glided through the workshop. _Things have really changed for me now that I'm a Guardian,_ he thought to himself. He'd tried to break in to the buildings at the North Pole hundreds of times before but was never successful, and now they just let him in whenever he wanted, even when it was only two days before Christmas. He'd always wanted to be part of the hustle and bustle and joy of a real North Pole Christmas, and this was his chance. A flock of toy planes flew past him, nearly clipping his shoulder; as he swerved in reaction he nearly knocked into a giant pile of teddy bears. Deciding air travel was too dangerous, Jack gently landed on the second floor walkway. From that vantage point Jack paused to watch the giant globe in the center of the room, thousands of tiny lights on every continent twinkled, each representing a child who believed. The globe was glowing brighter than he'd ever seen it, as the number of believers grew in anticipation of the upcoming holiday. He wondered how many of them believed in him too. _Probably lots_, he told himself, Jack too finding it easier to have hope this time of year.

Rows of elves and yetis hustled through the halls all working together to try and corral the mountains of toys into a loading dock, preparing for the big day. Jack saw that getting everything down the stairs was slowing the whole process down, as a yeti carrying a huge armful of robots was tripped by a wayward elf and stumbled down the last few steps, dropping robots everywhere in the process. In a flash Jack came up with a plan. _I can help everyone out by creating a nice smooth ice ramp on the staircase; the toys will slide right down._ His hand tightened on his staff which glowed blue with frost as he prepared to put the plan into action, when from behind him a firm hand clamped down on his shoulder and spun him around, a loud voice booming, "What are you doing?"

"North!" Jack cried in surprise as he looked up at the imposing figure dressed in red towering over him. "I was going to make some ice to help out," he explained.

"Helping?" North replied skeptically, "No time for mischief now!" He was a little grumpy since he had spent the entire morning rechecking the naughty and nice list.

"Really! I don't want to mess anything up, this is my first Christmas."

"First Christmas as a Guardian," North echoed, trying to remember if he had finished the M's or just the Mc's.

"No, my first Christmas," he corrected quietly, staring down at his bare feet. "I don't remember any I celebrated as a human, and all those years I was on my own, I didn't have any one to celebrate with"

"First Christmas? First Christmas!" North shouted, face changing from a scowl to a smile as he scooped the winter spirit into a big bear hug, lifting him up off the ground.

"First Christmas is my specialty!" he said as he set Jack down, "but you can't stay here now; you'll be in the elves' and yetis' way." Sensing the sad disappointment from Jack, North added, "Come back on Christmas morning. We have tradition, big party after all the presents are delivered. Now go, make a white Christmas for the world!"

"I promise it will be the whitest Christmas ever, with blankets of snow and frost everywhere!" Jack replied, relieved to have something he could contribute. Then he leaned into a gust of wind and lifted up and out a nearby open window.

North watched with a twinkle in his eye as the younger guardian flew off, thinking about how he could make this Christmas a special one.

* * *

Jack returned to the North Pole early on the morning of the twenty fifth, exhausted but happy. In the last day and a half he had traveled around the world twice, first creating a downy white blanket of snow on every roof, tree branch, and lawn that his winter magic could reach. He smiled as he thought about the children who would wake up and see the piles of snow he made as an opportunity to play outside making snowmen, sledding and maybe even having a snowball fight. They would have so much fun. On his second pass, he focused on frost, reaching areas where the snow wouldn't go making delicate swirls and twirls and flowers of ice on all the windows. Jack was always proud of his work, but this time he had really out done himself. He wanted to keep his promise to North and make a perfect Christmas.

He felt like he might never stop smiling as he walked through the workshop, now lavishly decorated for the party and looking even more Christmas-y than before, if that were even possible. Bunny and Sandy were putting up the last of the garland, the former able to reach the ceiling hooks with ease from the ground while the latter floated the garland up by dream sand.

"You're just time mate," Bunny greeted him, "We're expecting North back any minute."

Tooth flew over from the table she was dressing and gave him a warm hug, "Merry Christmas, Jack."

"Hey guys, the place looks great!" said Jack.

"We always decorate a little while North is out," Tooth replied. But to Jack it didn't look like a little, it looked like maybe they had been working there all night getting ready for the party. A small knot formed in his stomach; he hated feeling left out.

"Did you finish up early tonight Sandy?" Jack asked.

The silent guardian replied with a sand image of candied fruit, followed by a snowy scene.

"Yeah, I guess if everyone is dreaming of sugar plums or a white Christmas that speeds things along."

The knot in Jack's stomach grew; if he had known he would have worked faster and finished early too. He excused himself from the party room and took a walk down the hallway to calm his nerves. The place really did look great, there were evergreen boughs, holly, and gold and silver garland draping from every railing, sill, and light. Where there used to be piles of toys, Jack now found a glorious tree, the tallest he had ever seen, covered in lights and sparkling ornaments in every color, and at the bottom, a mound of perfectly wrapped presents.

The beauty of the tree made Jack feel a little calmer, until his eyes swept over all the gifts found underneath. His mouth ran dry as his heart sank. _The presents! How could I forget something so important! I didn't get anything for anyone. They won't include me in Christmas at all next year after a screw up like this. _His mind raced trying to think of last minute gift ideas, but it was way, way too late to get anything now. Jack decided it would be easier to quietly slip away rather than face the other Guardians and tell them what he did. He could tell them later that he had been too tired to party. As he walked out into the snow, he could feel tears of shame stinging in his eyes, threatening to spill over. The gentle snow that had been falling turned into sharp icy sleet as the wind picked up, matching Jack's dark mood. _Great, he thought, North is going to have to land in this mess, I managed to ruin that too. How do I always manage to turn everything for the worse?_ Jack angrily kicked at a snow bank, not believing he was really about to fly away from the thing he'd been so looking forward to for weeks. Too late, he realized he missed the opportunity for a quick getaway. A portal had opened and North's sleigh was coming in for a landing twenty feet from where he stood.

North bounded out of the sleigh on a post-delivery high, shouting to the approaching yetis, "Mission accomplished! Clear the sleigh! Spike the eggnog! Let's get this party started!" He ran over to Jack and his smile quickly turned to a look of concern when he saw the reddened eyes and sorrow filled frown.

"Jack, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Flying out from the workshop, Tooth called, "Jack, when did you get out here? We were looking for y—." She stopped mid-sentence as she also saw how sad he looked.

The other Guardians had come out to welcome North, so now Jack was faced with four matching looks of concern and confusion, each pretending to not be bothered by the biting, stinging snow. He took a deep breath, preparing to face the music.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I ruined Christmas. It turns out I'm just not good at these kinds of things. I didn't help decorate at all, and I didn't bring any presents…"

"Ho Ho Ho" Jack's apology was cut short by North's iconic laugh. "Bring present for me? You make me laugh. Children don't give gifts to Santa, I bring gifts for them!"

North pulled Jack closer with one arm and gestured to the others to go back inside, he could handle this one.

"But I saw the tree inside, with all the boxes"

"All from me: new hats for the elves and socks for the yetis. They work hard all year, I don't want them to feel unappreciated. We Guardians stopped exchanging gifts years ago, I should have told you"

"Oh" Jack said quietly, starting to realize he may have blown things out of proportion.

"This year is different though. I made an exception for you, for your first Christmas. Go look in the sleigh."

Feeling a small smile creep back onto his face, Jack agilely hopped into the back of the sleigh to find the toy sack empty, and a large book bound in red cracked leather on the seat.

"It's a book… Thanks!" said Jack, doing his best to sound sincere.

"Not just any book. I'll show you." North picked up the old tome flipping with ease to the correct page. "Look there, what do you see?"

"My name? Is this…?" Jack's smile spread wider as he realized what he was seeing.

"It is Jack. This is your name on the nice list. This year, you defeated Pitch, rekindled children's belief in all of us, and joined the Guardians, of course you are on the nice list. Not to mention, all the work you did yesterday bringing snow and frost for Christmas. I saw it on my ride, it was breathtaking. So no more talk of not helping or ruining Christmas."

Jack grinned ear to ear as he took in the kind words. He'd needed the recognition more than he realized. In fact Jack was so happy he couldn't help but spiral into the sky like a rocket in the wind.

"WOO HOO! BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!" his shouts could be heard clearly from down below. The merriest of snows began to fall over the Pole with large fluffy flakes.

"Come down and join the party Jack!" North shouted toward the sky, "It isn't Christmas without you"

* * *

**This is my first RotG fic, I hope you enjoyed it. I've got 6 chapters planned in total, as Jack sorts out his relationships with each of the other characters. They're not really connected. This one is 4th or 5th chronologically, but it was begging to be written first so here you go.**


	2. Ch 2: Elves

Ch. 2 Elves

The months of July and August were always so boring for Jack. It was much too warm for him to stay near his lake, so he had followed the winter weather south. Truth be told, there was just not that much work to do in the southern hemisphere. Besides, he was really missing Jamie, his first true believer. Jack sighed. He'd known loneliness for hundreds of years, but now that he'd made friends and had been seen by children he found it hard to be all on his own for even a few weeks. Months earlier, in that life-changing, world-tumbling moment when Jamie had hugged him, and those sweet innocent arms squeezed tight around his waist, Jack felt a strange flutter inside. A piece of his heart, no longer numb, now ached for physical contact. The feeling was unfamiliar and quite uncomfortable. Jack shifted uneasily, before doing the only thing he could think to do. He flew as far north as the winds blew.

* * *

Nicholas St. North was surprised to find Jack at the North Pole in August, and even more surprised to find him absolutely covered in elves. They gathered around him, climbing up his legs and clinging to his arms, clamoring for the sparkly snowflakes he created so effortlessly at his finger tips. He created a unique frost-jeweled flake for each of them in turn. They happily walked off with their prize until it melted a few moments later and they ran back to him for another.

Jack had not seen North in the doorway so he quickly ducked back down the hall. Some questions are better left un-asked. It was a funny thing to do, but then again Jack was a funny guy sometimes.

He never told the other guardians about his secret trips to visit the elves, but Jack made them frequently in the early years when children he could play with were few and far between. Jack figured it took about a hundred elf hugs to equal one human hug.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed my first chapter! This one is a much shorter bit of fluff, but it's my favorite, the one I think about it most. Wanna know the best part of all? It's a pic-fic! Only I've gotten the words done ahead of my drawing. I still have some inking to do, hopefully I'll get it done and posted for you tomorrow, Thursday at the latest.**

**** UPDATE** I've got it posted on (www.)Flickr(.com)/photos/candycalamity/8289079201/ Also I made it my avatar for the time being  
**


	3. Ch 3: Sandy

Ch. 3 Sandy

The Sandman floated on a cloud in the sky, following the last rays of sunlight, always moving westward as night fell and dream time began. The children, of course, could sleep and dream without him. There were always children sleeping all over the earth; he could not be with them all. Still, he took his duties seriously to sweeten the dreams of as many children as possible and help to calm away their fears. Traveling on in this way, conducting his symphony of sleep, he never really noticed the passing of time. Sometimes he would drift off into slumber himself*, for who knows how long.

On this night, Sandy smiled as he saw an icy blue streak approaching him from the ground below. He enjoyed it very much when Jack came to visit him. He enlarged his sand cloud to make room for two as the winter spirit flew up on a gust of wind before settling in, belly down, feet in the air, peering over the edge at the ground and rooftops below. Sandy reached over and patted the top of Jack's head by way of greeting before continuing his work with the dream sand.

"Hey Sandy! I was just telling the Man in the Moon that it's be easy to spot you on a clear night light this and there you were!" Jack never seemed to have trouble holding up his end of the conversation, he'd had lots of practice with one sided conversations. "I made a pretty big snow storm for the East Coast a couple days ago so I've been taking it easy since then. Today I judged a snowman contest in the park; do you see them all down there? There were so many kids outside playing, it was great. They all were called home hours ago, they are probably all in bed by now. What types of dreams are you sending tonight?"

Sandy gestured towards the waves of dream sand with a flourish inviting Jack to reach out for them. As Jack's fingers brushed across the sand, the dreams within jumped to life as they continued their journey down. Dolphins, unicorns, dinosaurs, pirates, fairies, frogs, and all manner of delights and adventures appeared each in turn in the night sky. Jack laughed with delight, enjoying the display. Sandy always upped his game a little, making the dreams a little more outlandish when Jack was there just to make him laugh. He would continue the show for as long as Jack liked to stay; though it was rare for him to sit still for more than an hour or two. In time the frost spirit would start to feel a little too fidgety, like the wind was calling him away.

"I'd better go, I've got more frost to make tonight." Jack made his excuses to leave, part of him wishing to stay forever. He had been chatting all night, but now he looked at Sandy not able to find the right words. "Um…. Thanks." He hoped that Sandy saw in his eyes how appreciative he really was for the time they spent together. Then off he flew.

Sandy watched him go and remembered a time they had played a brief version of this game in passing before Jack became a Guardian, but Sandy never invited him up to the clouds in those days. Until recently, Sandy truly hadn't known that Jack was so lonely and in need of companionship. He regretted not reaching out to him sooner, but was wise enough to not fret over the unchangeable past. Instead, Sandy did the only thing he could do. He turned back to his dream sand and sent down images of snowmen, and sledding, and a winter spirit named Jack Frost. Reaching into their dreams, Sandy could teach the children to believe.

* * *

***What does the Sandman dream of when he is sleeping? He dreams that he is floating over the earth on a cloud sending waves of dream sand to all the children below of course. **

**Thanks again for reading! It still totally psychs me out that other people are reading what I write. I updated the chapter 2 author note with the link to my fan art as promised. I was going to try and get all 6 chapters done by Christmas, but I don't know what to do with Tooth – she is so hard to figure out! **


	4. Ch 4: Jamie

**Set about two years after the movie**

Ch. 4 Jamie

Jamie loved when Jack came to visit him in the winter. He would bring a snow day and ring lead all the children in the neighborhood to play fabulous winter games. It was way better than going to school like every other day. More puzzling were the times that Jack came to town but did not stay to play.

"Jamie!"

He heard Jack calling him from out in the yard. He ran to the window and looked outside, but didn't see anything. There wasn't any snow on the ground, which makes sense since it was May, and no sign of Jack anywhere. He nearly gave up when the call came again.

"Jamie! Over here!"

Jamie looked up and saw his friend sitting on a wide tree branch. "There you are! Hi Jack!"

Then Jack would just smile and fly away. Jamie supposed Jack was playing a strange form of hide and seek. He hoped someday to understand the rules.

* * *

Jack did not mean to visit Jamie so often, he really didn't. It would just happen sometimes. He would be playing with other children and unexpectedly, one would run right through him. In one unfortunate incident it was a group of 7 that he had been ice skating with. Jack did not expect every child to believe in him, but being walked through was so unsettling he began to doubt himself. _They don't believe in you. You don't exist._ Once he thought the thought he could not un-think it. The only solution was to fly to Burgess. Jack hated doing it. The closer he got to Jamie's house, the more anxious he felt. In the yard outside he would have to gather himself for a moment to have the strength to yell,

"Jamie!"

Then came the worst part, waiting. Heart pounding, Jack would stare unmoving at the window. _He can't hear me. He won't see me. He stopped believing._ Jack watched as Jamie opened the window and looked around the yard. Unsatisfied, the voices inside keep shouting _He didn't hear you._ _It's a coincidence. He can't see you. _He had to be sure.

"Jamie! Over here!"

Jamie's head turned and they made eye contact. Merciful relief washed over Jack as Jamie said, "There you are! Hi Jack!"

He could always count on Jamie. His belief was so strong it helped Jack to believe in himself and quash the voices of doubt inside. He smiled and flew away; he'd been away from his winter duties for too long already.

* * *

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing, it really makes my day! **


	5. Ch 5: Tooth

Ch. 5 Tooth

Their words rang loud, echoing through the mountain palace.

"Jack, why do you always have to be so stubborn?" Tooth asked rhetorically.

"I don't know, why do you have to be so bossy?" Jack shouted back. He liked Tooth, but lately every time he saw her she tried to push him into 'settling down' and 'making a real home'. Why couldn't she see that he didn't need a house and hated being cooped up inside.

"All I'm saying, Jack, is that you need a place to be safe in and for friends to visit. Baby Tooth was looking for you for days and couldn't find you, we were worried. And don't tell me you live at that lake, you know it's too hot for you to even be there four months out of the year. You need a home!" The argument escalated.

"I don't need a home and I don't need people worrying about where I am. I'm fine on my own. I don't need anything but my staff and the winter!" Frustrated, Jack stormed outside.

Tooth's feathers bristled in the frigid gust of air in Jack's wake. It was hard to be a friend to Jack at times. He had a way of always pushing people away, keeping his distance. She understood that it was a defense mechanism that he didn't ever mean it, but she was glad Baby Tooth wasn't around to hear what he had shouted. She thought about going back to work and just leaving him outside, but then thought better of it and went to go find him.

* * *

Out on the balcony, Jack sat leaning against the stone of the building. He looked out over the valley and watched dozens of mini fairies zip in and out, keeping up the business of tooth collection. A slight breeze cooled him off, both figuratively and literally. He already regretted yelling at Tooth like that; he hoped he hadn't permanently damaged their friendship. He was surprised when she flew out moments later and sat down beside him.

"Tooth, I'm sorry," he apologized, "Do you want me to go? I would understand if you didn't want to be friends anymore."

"Stop it Jack. Our friendship is a lot stronger than an argument; you're not getting rid of me that easily." She turned a little so she could looking him in the eye before softly asking, "Jack what's going on?"

"What?"

"You're saying things you don't mean, talking about not being friends, what is this all really about?"

"I don't know."

Tooth looked hard at Jack, her face demanding a better answer then that.

"It's the lake. Maybe I should move on to somewhere else, but I can't. That's where _it_ happened. That's where my memories are."

"You don't want to leave the lake because you died there?"

He nodded, feeling a little shaky at the mention of his death. It was still a lot for him to process.

"You know you're memories are not at the lake. I'm keeping them safe here, and you can come see them any time you want."

"But what if they're bad ones?" Jack said, barely above a whisper. He shuddered, remembering the whirlwind of emotions and thoughts that had come last time he had opened the small box of his childhood memories. He wasn't sure he could ever do it again.

Tooth saw how upset Jack was, and took both of his hands in hers, trying to stop their shaking. In that moment she realized she had to be a lot more patient with him; he had a long way to go before he would be 'ok'. She strengthened her resolve to not give up on their friendship, not ever. After a long moment of just holding him still, she spoke up.

"Oh, Jack, you shouldn't have been alone with that thing. It needs fairy magic to control the memories, to choose the right ones. It will be different this time, I'm here with you." She smiled and was relieved when he smiled back. Then she pulled him up to standing.

"Are you ready to try it? I bet I can find a birthday memory!" Tooth said encouragingly.

"I'd like that."

They walked down the hall towards the tooth room arm in arm, and this time he did not pull away. Jack instead leaned into Tooth's strength, realizing that he had found a true friend.

* * *

**Ok, so first I wanted it to be Jack telling Tooth about his memory of saving his sister and dying. But that was pretty dark, so then I thought maybe it's about Jack being afraid of his memories. Then I wanted Jack to feel like he was imposing on everyone else's homes so Tooth would help him get his own. Then I wanted them to have an argument to test their friendship…. Sooooo I just mooshed all the ideas together and this popped out. I hope you like it.**

**I didn't mean to get so sappy with this one, but the ending took on a life of its own. I guess I'm just an old sap because Bunny's chapter is the same way. Speaking of which, Bunny's chapter is last but not least, I'm already working on it. But I'm also already off visiting family for the holiday so I'm not sure when it will be up. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	6. Ch 6: Bunny

Ch. 6 Bunny

Jack made his way through the Warren carefully, trying to avoid tramping on any of the flowers or egglets found throughout the lush green grass. Bunny had told him he was welcome to come for a visit, but Jack was not sure if it was a genuine offer or if he just said it to be polite. They'd had disagreements in the past, and their friendship had a rocky start, but now Jack was happy to count Bunny as a friend. He hoped the friendship was close enough for the favor he was about to ask. Jack had timed his visit carefully, it was a few weeks after Easter and Bunny had done a big blow out to make up for last year, so he should be in a pretty good mood. Deciding the place was too big to find Bunny by searching, Jack opted for a louder method.

"BUNNY!" he paused, but saw no sign of the six foot rabbit, so he shouted again, "BUNNY, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Oy, no need to shout, Mate." The voice came from right beside him.

Startled Jack lost his balance and fell backward onto a mossy rock. He tried to play it smooth and take a seat there as if he'd done it on purpose, but the smirk on Bunny's face showed he knew otherwise. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was gardening right 'round the corner here. It's great to see you Jack, what brings you to my corner of the world?" Bunny asked, while giving Jack a friendly pat on the on the shoulder.

Reassured by the warm welcome he had received, Jack decided not to beat around the bush. "Well, I wanted to see how you were doing, but also actually I have a question to ask you. It's kinda a big question."

"Sure thing, fire away."

"How did you get everybody to believe in you?"

For a long moment Bunny just stared at Jack, taken aback by the question he had asked. Where would he even start with a question like that. "How did I get everybody to believe in me?"

"Yeah, well, not just _you_ you, but you or Tooth or Sandy or anybody. They all love you, and I just wanted to know how you did it." Jack added, rambling a little bit as his nerves got the better of him.

It was too much for Bunny who burst into laughter even though he was trying not to. "Do you have any idea how absurd what you're asking is, Mate? Not everybody believes in me, 'they' don't all love me, not by a long shot."

"hmm, well everybody believes in North, he's Santa Claus" Jack could hear how silly it sounded before he even finished speaking. Maybe he shouldn't have asked after all.

"You've got it all wrong! First of all, only a third of the people in the world even celebrate Christmas or Easter, and most of those are adults or older children who stopped believing. I'll be honest, I have no idea how Sandy keeps track of his numbers, but think about Tooth, kids only loose their teeth from age six to what, ten? She only gets them for four years." Bunny stopped his rant when he saw Jack's face which had gone from disappointed to distressed. He hadn't meant to upset him, only to bring him to reality. Bunny changed tone, "What I'm saying is it's enough. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to make every kid on Earth believe. You've seen all the lights on North's globe, things are ok."

To Jack it was not reassuring at all, he wasn't sure what kind of answer he was expecting to get, but this was not it. He had seen the Guardians' globe with a point of light for every child who believed. All together on the globe it seemed like so many, but when he was out traveling the world, it seemed like very few. He'd gained so much by joining the Guardians, now he had a purpose for his life; the thought of loosing it all if no one believed in him worried him deeply. He slumped a little on the rock and held his head in his hands, not sure what to do next. Bunny hated seeing what his words had done to Jack. He'd grown so much recently into his role as Guardian of Fun, but looking at him now Bunny could see that the old lonely, childlike Jack that was still inside. He still felt incredibly guilty for ignoring what were clearly cries for attention all those years; he should have known better. And now Jack had come to him for support and he'd delivered the least motivational speech of all time. Bunny realized he needed to show Jack something none of the other Guardians had ever seen.

"I can't tell you how I do it, I'll have to show you," he stated simply before hopping off.

Confused, but also curious Jack followed Bunny as he hopped down the hill on a gentle dirt path, through a short tunnel and a field before coming to a door built into a hill side. With out a word, Bunny entered, Jack followed close behind. Inside, Jack found a large room lined with bookshelves all stacked full of notebooks, parchment rolls, blueprints, and the odd misplaced egg or chocolate candy. In one corner, Bunny had his own globe, four feet in diameter, stuck full with push pins. Some of the pins held small notes, while others were wrapped with strings that zigzagged across the continents. Finally, Jack saw a large work table, piled high with papers. There was a low bench along one side where Bunny sat with an expectant smile on his face, watching Jack take it all in.

"Welcome to my planning room," he said with obvious pride.

"What's all this?" Jack asked gesturing to the shelves, the table, the piles of paper everywhere.

"It's a record of every Easter ever, my route, my hiding places, all my secrets. I'll show you everything I do if that will make you feel better." Jack was flattered that Bunny was letting him in to a place that was obviously very important and special, but he did not see how this would help solve his problem. Seeing that he was still not reaching Jack, Bunny tried again, "Look, I know you're worried about no one believing in you, but please trust me; it won't happen. I won't let it. I'd paint snowflakes on every Easter egg if I had to."

"Really?" Jack looked up at Bunny and their eyes locked, he could see that he was dead serious.

"Really! You did it for me once and I'll never forget that," now Jack was smiling and Bunny was relieved that he finally managed to say the right thing, "but it won't ever come to that because you're the Spirit of Winter, kids will always believe in you. You just need to work on your strategy." He motioned for Jack to join him on the bench, and pulled out a schematic of Central Park in New York City to illustrate his point. "See, here's the plan from last year and here's the changes for this year. Never do the same thing twice, you've got to keep those ankle-biters on their toes. They're clever, but we're cleverer. They love tricks, I bet you've got a lot of tricks up your sleeve, have you tried jotting any of them down for reference?..."

And so began the first of many joint strategy sessions for Jack and Bunny. It turned out that the only thing Bunny liked better than making his elaborate plans was talking them over with someone else. Jack would never be as organized and detailed as Bunny, taking notes was just not his style, but he deeply appreciated the time they spent together all the same. Jack was able to learn quite a bit from the older Guardian to make the most of his time each Winter to reach as many children as he could. Bunny, to his surprise, found that his Easter plans gained a lot from Jack's innovative ideas for ways to top each previous year.

* * *

**So that's the end for me. I hope you enjoyed my stories, I feel like I'm leaving Jack in a more emotionally stable place than he was at the end of the movie. Thank you to each and every one of you who read or reviewed my chapters - it makes my day every time I get a new review notice. **

**Have a very merry Christmas! Remember, if you find a large Russian man with swords and tattoos breaking into your house tonight then you must be on the nice list this year. Lucky.**


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